Re: Night Sky : Thu Dec 13, 2012 6:40 pm  

Ferocious Aardvark wrote: That would be the place to be tomorrow night for the meteors, then! It's a shame that the vast majority of people in English cities will never get to see the Milky Way in their lifetime. On the slight plus side there is the James Webb Telescope coming in 2018 which should illuminate the sky for us even further. Live webcam of the build here

Ferocious Aardvark wrote: That would be the place to be tomorrow night for the meteors, then! It's a shame that the vast majority of people in English cities will never get to see the Milky Way in their lifetime. On the slight plus side there is the James Webb Telescope coming in 2018 which should illuminate the sky for us even further. Live webcam of the build here

Re: Night Sky : Fri Dec 14, 2012 1:06 am  

B0NES wrote:

I'm leaning more towards a decent pair binoculars to start off with .

Good call. Make sure to get some that you can fit to a tripod. There is no fun to be had in watching mini star trails jiggle up and down while your arms ache like feck!

Leave them outside somewhere where they won't be nicked, for an hour or so before you go out, so the optics all cool down, to help against steaming up.

Re: Night Sky : Fri Dec 14, 2012 1:08 am  

McClennan wrote: On the slight plus side there is the James Webb Telescope coming in 2018 which should illuminate the sky for us even further. Live webcam of the build here Although is the funding for this now confirmed? This year there was talk that it came perilously close to being cancelled, which would be a crime against humanity.

McClennan wrote: On the slight plus side there is the James Webb Telescope coming in 2018 which should illuminate the sky for us even further. Live webcam of the build here Although is the funding for this now confirmed? This year there was talk that it came perilously close to being cancelled, which would be a crime against humanity.

Re: Night Sky : Fri Dec 14, 2012 1:20 am  

Has anyone tried any auto-tracking telescopes or devices?

I don't think I'd be that bothered but under high magnification some celestial objects can zip across your field of vision in no time.

Just wondering.

Re: Night Sky : Fri Dec 14, 2012 1:37 am  

Cronus wrote:

Has anyone tried any auto-tracking telescopes or devices?

I don't think I'd be that bothered but under high magnification some celestial objects can zip across your field of vision in no time.

Just wondering.

Yes, I have a Celestron that does just that, and it's a feature available as standard or extra on most decent scopes. The latest models are even easier as basically not only do they track, but they even set themselves up.

The big bonus with having a motorised drive is that not only will it track your object as it moves across the sky, but they all have a catalogue of all the main objects which your telescope will find for you. Lazy know, but saves you having to learn star-hopping or find your way about the sky.

Such scopes usually also have a facility to connect them to a PC and control from that, so with a suitable camera fixed to the eyepiece you could even watch the view on your screen inside. You will get software with your telescope, but most astronomy software can be used to guide a scope, create "tours" and viewing lists etc.

Re: Night Sky : Fri Dec 14, 2012 2:06 am  

Ferocious Aardvark wrote:

Yes, I have a Celestron that does just that, and it's a feature available as standard or extra on most decent scopes. The latest models are even easier as basically not only do they track, but they even set themselves up.

The big bonus with having a motorised drive is that not only will it track your object as it moves across the sky, but they all have a catalogue of all the main objects which your telescope will find for you. Lazy know, but saves you having to learn star-hopping or find your way about the sky.

Such scopes usually also have a facility to connect them to a PC and control from that, so with a suitable camera fixed to the eyepiece you could even watch the view on your screen inside. You will get software with your telescope, but most astronomy software can be used to guide a scope, create "tours" and viewing lists etc.

Cheers for that. Been many years since my last telescope but I could be easily tempted to take it up again.

Finding your target is part of the fun, but after an hour arsing around searching at max maginification in -5C, an auto tracker would be awesome. I'm definitely well behind the times.

Re: Night Sky : Fri Dec 14, 2012 10:01 am  

Well, as ever, my part of the world clouded itself over licke clockwork whenever there's anything in the sky to watch.

Anybody see anything, or was everywhere knackered?

Re: Night Sky : Fri Dec 14, 2012 12:17 pm  

Ferocious Aardvark wrote: Although is the funding for this now confirmed? This year there was talk that it came perilously close to being cancelled, which would be a crime against humanity. Don't know sorry but did find this.

Ferocious Aardvark wrote: Although is the funding for this now confirmed? This year there was talk that it came perilously close to being cancelled, which would be a crime against humanity. Don't know sorry but did find this.

Re: Night Sky : Fri Dec 14, 2012 12:24 pm  

Ferocious Aardvark wrote:

Well, as ever, my part of the world clouded itself over licke clockwork whenever there's anything in the sky to watch.

Anybody see anything, or was everywhere knackered?

I had to wait till 11.30 until the cloud cover dispersed , went in the garden for about 40 mins last night , I saw about 5 meteor's .

Re: Night Sky : Fri Dec 14, 2012 12:32 pm  

B0NES wrote:

I had to wait till 11.30 until the cloud cover dispersed , went in the garden for about 40 mins last night , I saw about 5 meteor's .

You sure it wasn't this over Boothferry Estate?